Plaza de La Paz

Plaza de La Paz. . , Side 1 , 10 Million Years Ago , You are standing on what once was the bottom of a deep ocean basin. Over millions of years, geological upheaval raised the coastal plain and caused dramatic changes in the shoreline. , Mixocetus was similar in size (and diet) to a modern humpback whale. Baleen whales, which also include the fin, gray, blue, bowhead and Northern right whale, have flat skulls and long, slender, toothless lower jaws. In place of teeth, brush-like filters called baleen, are used to strain food, schools of tiny fish and shrimp-like krill as great gulps of sea water are "spit out" , Paleo Notes: Fossilized remains of nearly complete Mixocetus skull, jaw and skeletal parts were discovered during site preparation at Plaza de La Paz. Scientists believe that these long extinct baleen whales once were earth's largest living creatures. , Side 2 , Fossil Facts , The Plaza de la Paz Story , Discovery: Plaza de La Paz is located in an area of Orange County that millions of years ago was at the bottom of a deep tropical bay. A number of important marine fossils were uncovered here during construction. Since where a fossil is found often reveals important information, any such discovery should be left in place until scientists evaluate protect and remove it. , Recovery: The discovery of a large fossil is exciting, but a lot of painstaking work is often necessary before such touchstones to ages past can be safely removed. Encasing the remains of 10 million year old creatures in a strong temporary plaster jacket provides protection until scientists can unravel the secrets they contain about life on our planet millions of years before the arrival of humans. , Paleo Notes: During construction, scientists and volunteers removed several hundred marine fossils, large and small, from the 10 to 12 million year old sea floor deposits beneath Plaza de La Paz.